Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, the official hometown of Santa Claus and one of our favorite vacations in Europe. During our visit, we stayed at the incredible Arctic Treehouse Hotel, which is surrounded by forest trails and fresh blueberries. We visited the Arktikum museum, Santa Claus Village (including the arctic circle, Santa’s post office, and the big guy himself! ), and Ranua Wildlife Park – one of the nicest zoos I’ve ever seen, with a fantastic playground for the kids.

Finland was one of the most beautiful countries we’ve visited, everyone found something they enjoyed. The food was wonderful -we especially enjoyed tasting reindeer, which was found in everything – from burgers to Indian cuisine. The surroundings were phenomenal, and the hiking trails were built up so the ecosystem was not harmed while you enjoyed the forests.

We went in August, and because the skies were bright nearly all night, it wasn’t optimal for viewing the Northern Lights. We didn’t mind though. It provided us with a welcome break from the heat of the Roman summer.

Have you visited Finland? What did you think? Is it on your list of places to visit?

In my dreams, I can repurpose anything. I believe that I am going to have the time, material, and creativity to transform trash into treasure. In reality, I move far to frequently to hold on to all the treasures I’d like to restore and repurpose. Instead, I wistfully pass along my pieces of inspiration to those with larger storage areas and fewer potential moves.

I do love to see repurposed items, and one of my favorite was the Kunstwald – the art wood in the forest not far from my home in Burglengenfeld, Germany. This hiking trail was truly unique. Much of the art was carved from wood blending seamlessly into the woods along the trail. They added the unexpected to the trail – repurposing a solitary walk in the woods into a reflection on nature and art.

Originally posted on The WordPress.com Blog: Since 2004, WordPress has set out with an ambitious goal in mind — to democratize publishing and put state-of-the-art tools in front of publishers both large and small across the planet. We believe strongly in this vision because when more people have access to powerful tools on the…

Originally posted on MARILYN R. GARDNER : I love this travel quote from a reader and blogger who writes at An Adventure a Day. How could I not love someone who writes a blog by that name?! She says this about the quote: There are just so many wonderful travel quotes to choose from! I do really…

I wasn’t planning on taking a summer break from writing, but life happens and it’s been busy around here. I should be back next week or two. In the meantime, I’ve joined the Bloglovin feed, you can also follow my updates there.

I was quite surprised and pleased to receive a nomination for the Liebster award from fellow blogger Alexa Lardieri. Thanks so much Alexa! You should definitely stop over and check out her blog. Alexa’s blog, Alexa Lardieri, A Journalism major’s early work, is a great mix of her published work as well as …